Some coverage of Michael Moore’s showdowns with CNN.
Peter Chowka:
“It does not seem unreasonable to think that Moore’s performance with Blitzer on CNN was, in large part, calculated to generate controversy about and rekindle interest in the lagging Sicko box office . . . Moore’s schtick was like throwing red meat to his large core fan base that already thinks that CNN is right of center, too soft on (if not in cahoots with) the Bush-Cheney administration, and complicit in the selling of the Iraq war to the American people.”
Drifting Through The Grift:
“It is also elucidating to note in Moore’s point by point rebuttal of the CNN report on his website the fudging boils down to such shocking disagreements as $6000 vs $7400 and 77.5 vs 77.6. Nits.
Of course, all of this presents an opportunity for Moore to turn to another frequent creationists tactic. Persecution and paranoia. Instead of a reasoned response of exploring the differences and discussing the greater truth, Moore chooses to accuse CNN of being bribed by HMOs and the pharmaceuticals. Disagreement, no matter how mild, is sinister and heretical.”
Dan Gainor:
“Gupta accused Moore of “cherry picking” certain data from various reports on health care to substantiate his case and said Moore’s lack of consistency could have consequences on the drive for socialized care. “It makes it very hard to advance the argument if you’re not getting the numbers right,” Gupta said.
Moore also accused Gupta of ignoring that one of his sources had donated money to various Republican candidates. Ironically, Gupta and Moore have one thing in common ““ they both have donated money to political candidates, but all to Democrats in recent elections.”
Update -
Dr. Sanjay Gupta:
“I also worry that Michael, who is an accomplished film maker, tried to leave people with the impression that health care is free in many other nations and there is a state of utopia. True, Michael did talk about increased taxes in his film, but he also kept calling it “free,” which made it nebulous. No question, there are many valuable things to learn from other health care systems, but we should know all things before wholeheartedly endorsing one system over another. We should know that taxes will be much higher, as is the case in France where they are crippled by their health care system.”
